Mexican (especially huevos rancheros) or Dim Sum off 101 between Burbank and Thousand Oaks?

[artemis]

Greetings LA hounds! Long time poster in the SF Board, but I know so little about LA that I must turn to you. I'm flying into Burbank from SF on Saturday morning to attend a wedding in Thousand Oaks that evening. While San Francisco has a lot of great food, LA of course has superior mexican food, and sometimes superior dim sum. We won't be able to make it to SGV on this trip though.

I'm looking for a place to have breakfast, brunch, or an early lunch along 101-N from Burbank to Thousand Oaks - breakfast burrito/huevos rancheros would be great, as would dim sum. Other recs are also welcome. We'll need breakfast/brunch/early lunch on both Saturday and Sunday (to and from the airport), so hopefully there are good things along the way.

Thanks so much!

[Jelly71]

For Mexican food, if you take the Reseda Blvd exit, you can get to Melody's or Las Fuentes. They are owned by the same people, and the food is the same. Las Fuentes is just a little bigger and has more tables.

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Las Fuentes
18415 Vanowen St, Los Angeles, CA 91335

[Jwsel]

Loteria Grill in Studio City is perfect for what you want and not far out of your way. They have great egg dishes and chilaguiles. Most of their meats are guisados -- their cochinita pibil is fantastic and I also like their carne deshebrada and pollo con mole negro. http://www.loteriagrill.com/

Dim sum is not really an option. The only decent dim sum place along your route is A&W Seafood in Northridge (and it's not very close to 101), but it's not comparable to SGV or San Francisco.

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Loteria Grill
12050 Ventura Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 91604

[Peripatetic]

Loteria is an excellent suggestion, though I haven't been to the Studio City location.

My favorite place along that route is Cemitas Poblanas Don Adrian in Van Nuys. It's very authentic, but be aware it's a small hole-in-the-wall and can be crowded at peak hours ()though for an early lunch it should be fine). NB: cash only (but very inexpensive).

Cemitas Poblanas Don Adrian
14902 Victory Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91411
818-786-0328

LA Times review from a few years ago: http://www.latimes.com/features/food/...

[Jwsel]

I like Studio City. I was not impressed by the original Loteria at Farmer's Market when I tried it, so was reluctant to go to Loteria Studio City. I was quite please and have been there a few times, and hosted a family brunch on Mother's Day. Everyone liked the food a lot.

I like Don Adrian, but I always thought its specialties are really cemitas and chalupas, not breakfast/brunch dishes. I have a feeling that it may not be what the OP is seeking. It's a definite hole-in-the-wall and parking is really a hassle in that tiny lot.

San Marcos Grill on Hazeltine, just south of Oxnard is a similar hole-in-the-wall that I would recommend. I think they have more variety in their menu, but I don't know if they have egg/brunch dishes. (They do have fantastic chile rellenos, but only on Thursdays.) It has a bar and about three tables, a salsa bar, and counter ordering. But you do get a great bean dip while you wait for your food. (If I were the OP and wanted breakfast/brunch, I would still probably go to Loteria.)

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San Marcos Mexican Grill
5937 Hazeltine Ave, Los Angeles, CA 91401

[artemis]

These are all wonderful suggestions! We have to drive back to the airport on Sunday for a 1:30 flight, so a lunch suggestion (like Don Adrian, it seems) is also welcome. Your korean and thai are better than ours too, so if that's an option along 101, great.

[Jwsel]

Thai in North Hollywood. There are a slew of great Thai places around Coldwater/Sherman Way, which is north of the 101, but only a few minutes from the airport in Burbank. (Just go down Coldwater to Vanowen, turn east, and follow it for about 3 miles and you're at the airport.)

My favorite place is Krua Thai. I highly recommend, among other things, the pad thai krua thai, the seafood soup, the roasted duck salad, the beef jerky, and the thai sausage.

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Krua Thai Restaurant
13130 Sherman Way, North Hollywood, CA 91605

[happybaker]

LOVE Krau Thai!

It can be a problem as the menu is so HUGE but wow is it good. For newbies, I just order the anglo "classics" and then watch them blink at how much better the food is there. Pad Thai. Rad na. Angel wings. Prik King anything. And the green curry. Good good stuff. Oh and they have a clam dish that I can't remember the name of that is Awesome.

[Peripatetic]

Good Korean is scarce-to-nonexistent in the SFV, but there's a satellite Thai Town in North Hollywood centered around Sherman Way. I've been to Bua Siam which was very good, but Swan Restaurant and Krua Thai are also supposed to be good.

Swan Restaurant
12728 Sherman Way, North Hollywood, CA 91605
818-764-1892

Thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/759443#6214633

Krua Thai
13130 Sherman Way, North Hollywood, CA 91605
818-759-7998

Thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/577103

Bua Siam
12924 Sherman Way, North Hollywood, CA 91605
818-765-8395
http://www.buasiam.com/

Blog post: http://www.foodgps.com/bua-siam-north...

[hhewitt]

Just moved nearby, and agree about San Marcos Grill. Very friendly people, good prices, and tasty bean dip while you wait.

They serve chilaquiles and other things on their breakfast menu. I've had the chilaquiles, and other than a big flat piece of beef on it that was overcooked, the rest was quite tasty. Their salsa roja is great too.

I've only been to the Farmer's Market and Hollywood Loterias, not Studio City. I find them kinda pricy, but tasty.

[Peripatetic]

> I was not impressed by the original Loteria at Farmer's Market

100% agree. I don't mind the Hollywood location, but the full bar may have something to do with it. I have to agree that Loteria isn't fantastic, but it's near the 101 and it's not bad in comparison to the other options.

> I like Don Adrian, but I always thought its specialties are really cemitas and
> chalupas, not breakfast/brunch dishes.

Indeed they are. Unfortunately my favorite place for huevos rancheros in the SFV closed a while back (the short-lived Don Huarache in North Hollywood).

Anther possibility mentioned frequently on CH is Salsa & Beer in Lake Balboa near Van Nuys. I haven't been there personally, though. They don't have huevos rancheros on their online menu, but they have burritos rancheros. They have a second location in North Hollywood that opened in Oct 2010.

Lake Balboa:

Salsa y Beer
6740 White Oak Ave, Lake Balboa, CA 91406
818-609-8877
http://www.salsaandbeer.com/

North Hollywood:

Salsa & Beer
11669 Sherman Way, North Hollywood, CA 91605
818-503-1220
http://www.salsaandbeer.com/

[Peripatetic]

I just noticed that the OP mentioned breakfast burritos. Corner Cottage in Burbank is a CH favorite for breakfast burritos, but if I remember correctly you have to get there before 11am:

Corner Cottage
310 S Victory Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502
818-843-2567

Here's a previous thread: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/3993...

[reneannalee]

Bao dim sum house on Beverly. It's not exactly near the 101 but it's great. Some purists proably wouldn't like it cause they don't do carts. Everything is made fresh to order. After going there I don't even care that they don't do carts.

[Jwsel]

"Not exactly near the 101" is a bit of an understatement. That's nowhere near where the OP is looking. You're basically suggesting the OP go an hour out of his or her way (it's at least 30 minutes each way from the 101/134 interchange to the Beverly Center area where Bao is located -- and that's assuming no traffic). Not to mention that I don't think Bao compares to the better dim sum places in San Francisco or to places in SGV like Elite or Sea Harbour.

[Peripatetic]

According to Google maps:

BUR -> Bao Dim Sum -> Thousand Oaks: 1 hour 15 minutes travel time (see Map 1).

BUR -> Elite Restaurant -> Thousand Oaks: 1 hour 24 minutes travel time (see Map 2).

If Elite is only nine minutes more out of the way than Bao, there doesn't seem to be much point in going to Bao.

Map 1: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=2627+North+Hollywood+Way,+Burbank,+CA+91505-1062+(Bob+Hope+Airport)&daddr=8256+Beverly+Blvd,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90048+to:thousand+oaks,+ca&hl=en&geocode=FcjVCQIdWv_x-CHxBdjxGxjhbQ%3BFQT1BwId59Hx-Cmt7uWeSrnCgDGR46v-4WRrqA%3BFcFmCQIdpq7q-CmRiChwViXogDEmLsxHAXoujQ&mra=pd&sll=34.170561,-118.659508&sspn=1.007808,0.870667&ie=UTF8&ll=34.139088,-118.586426&spn=1.008188,0.870667&z=10

Map 2: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&s...